The career paths of graduates in chinese interpreting studies: a scientometric exploration

Els darrers 30 anys, el creixement dels Estudis d’Interpretació xinesos ha sigut, com a mínim, espectacular. La creixent col·laboració econòmica i política entre la Xina i Occident han motivat la demanda d’intèrprets per a superar les diferències lingüístiques i culturals. Des que es van crear graus i màsters en traducció i interpretació per tota la Xina, centenars d’egressats universitaris s’han embarcat en carreres professionals diverses. Aquest estudi comença amb un panorama de la disciplina: trajectòria de creixement, tendències temàtiques i teòriques dominants, metodologies d’investigació i col·laboracions, i principals figures. Partint d’un corpus exhaustiu de tesis de màster, es fa servir l’Aparellament per Puntuació de Propensió (APP) i l’Avaluació de la Importància de les Variables (EIV) per a examinar quins determinants estructurals poden tenir un impacte causal en les decisions que els estudiants prenen sobre la seva carrera professional després de la graduació. La investigació revela que és més probable que entrin al món acadèmic els escriptors de tesis empíriques que no aquells que van dur a terme recerca teòrica. En contra de les expectatives habituals, el contingut de la tesis i el prestigi de l’afiliació acadèmica de l’estudiant i el director de tesi tenen poc impacte en la decisió. Segons la disciplina continua desenvolupant-se i madura, els factors que afecten les decisions sobre la carrera dels egressats tendeixen a continuar desenvolupant-se en paral·lel, tornant-la més complexa i diversa.En los últimos 30 años el crecimiento de los Estudios de Interpretación chinos ha sido, como poco, espectacular. La progresiva colaboración económica y política entre China y Occidente ha motivado una demanda de intérpretes para superar las diferencias lingüísticas y culturales. Desde que se crearon grados y máster en traducción e interpretación por toda China cientos de graduados universitarios se han embarcado en diferentes carreras profesionales. Este estudio empieza con un panorama de la disciplina: trayectoria de crecimiento, tendencias temáticas y teóricas dominantes, metodologías de investigación y colaboraciones, y principales figuras. A partir de un corpus exhaustivo de tesis de máster, se usa Pareamiento por Puntaje de Propensión (PPP) y Evaluación de la Importancia de las Variables (EIV) para examinar que determinantes estructurales pueden tener un impacto causal en las decisiones que los estudiantes toman sobre sus carreras tras la graduación. La investigación revela que es más probable que accedan al mundo académico los escritores de tesis empíricas que aquellos que realizan estudios teóricos. Al contrario de lo esperado, el contenido de la tesis y el prestigio de la afiliación académica del estudiante o el director de la tesis tienen poco impacto en la decisión. Según la disciplina se sigue desarrollando y madura, los factores que afectan las decisiones sobre la carrera profesional de los graduados tienden a seguir desarrollándose en paralelo, volviéndola más compleja y diversa.Increasing economic and political collaboration between China and the West has driven the demand for interpreters to bridge the linguistic and cultural divide. Since master’s and bachelor’s degree courses in interpreting and translation were created all over China, hundreds of university graduates have embarked on widely differing career paths. This study begins with an overview of the discipline: its growth trajectory, dominant theoretical and thematic trends, research methodologies and collaborations, and major players. Working from an exhaustive corpus of master’s theses, Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Variable Importance Evaluation (VIE) are used to examine which structural determinants may have a causal impact on the decisions students make about their careers after graduation. The research reveals that writers of empirical theses are much more inclined to enter the academic sphere than those who conduct theoretical studies. Graduation year and geographical location of university also contribute to the choice between one career path and another. Contrary to common expectation, thesis content and the prestige of a student’s academic affiliation or thesis advisor have little impact on the decision. As the discipline continues to evolve and mature, the factors affecting graduates’ career choices are likely to develop in parallel, becoming ever more complex and diverse

Joining, participating in and withdrawing from a social networking site

PhD ThesisThis thesis contributes to our understanding of the user behaviour on social networking sites by studying the users’ life cycle. More specifically, it examines the motivations for the three key stages of this cycle - namely joining, participating and withdrawing. Previous literature on the topic puts strong emphasis on the participation stage, typically focusing on general purpose SNS, such as Facebook and Myspace. As a result, there is a dearth of research on the other two stages of the life cycle. Also, there are only a few studies on specific purpose or niche networks. Attending to these gaps, this study’s research questions explore the main motivations that drive a person to join, participate and close their account in an SNS. The work on both the first two stages, i.e. the study of joining and participating in niche SNS, is based on the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour, and the Uses and Gratifications Theory respectively, using Structural Equation Modelling in both cases. In order to gain more detailed insight into user withdrawal, a different strategy was adopted that was based on a qualitative data collection that was analysed quantitatively using Social Network Analysis. The theoretical framework was informed by Social Identity Theory, using the disidentification concept to explain user withdrawal. The data collected for the research comes from primary sources, having SNS users as a sample frame for the first two stages and former SNS users for the last one. Consistent with the methodology proposed, the data was collected using online questionnaires for the research on joining and participation and laddered interviews for withdrawal. The findings show that for a user to join an SNS it is important to perceive the SNS as easy to use, yet novel enough to make it look different from existing networks. Regarding participation in niche SNS, the research identified the importance of networking gratification, as well as the social support that users can receive through these networks. Likewise, people participate in niche SNS to search for information related to the purpose of the network, which is linked to the learning gratification sought by the users. Lastly, users withdraw from a social network due to issues relating to impression management, as well as looking to regain control of the image they want to project online.Colfuturo for their financial support, covering the fees and part of the living expense