This study aimed to determine whether the current African language translation facilitation course (ALTFC) held at the Directorate Language Services (D Lang) is in tune with contemporary trends in translator training, as well as the needs of the South African Department of Defence (DOD) and ALTFC candidates. In order to accomplish these aims, the research methodology was divided into a theoretical component in the form of a literature survey and an empirical component by means of questionnaire research. While the literature survey revealed that with the exception of using corpora of parallel texts, the ALTFC largely follows contemporary trends in translator training, the questionnaire research identified four problem areas, i.e. feedback on practical work, the time factor, the candidates' English proficiency and teacher enthusiasm. Based on the theoretical and empirical findings, four new ALTFC models were developed. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / MA (Linguistics)

This thesis set out to examine news habits among Swedish 15-20 year olds during the spring of 2020 but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Following the events and its possible implications on news consumption, the focus shifted towards also looking at how young people’s news habits might change during the pandemic. This study was primarily aimed at better understanding the relationship between young people and news by implementing theories relating to their motivations and how they connect to society. The method used to examine this was online surveys. Additionally, by building on research from the 2009 Swine flu pandemic the survey aimed at improving the understanding of news’ relevance in the context of the digitized media landscape and evolved use of social media. From the results it seems respondents had a bigger need for news and information during Covid-19. Results showed that young people have an interest in news and care about what goes on in society. Factors such as political interest and education level indicated higher news consumption but not as much in relation to the pandemic. Social media was important for the overall news consumption. Those discussing current events with friends and family were also more likely to consume news to a greater extent than those who did not. This study concludes that the decline in youth news consumption previously observed, might not be as severe and that the role of social media is a crucial element. It is also evident that the Covid-19 pandemic increased young people’s news consumption and they turn to the news for information and to better understand what goes on in the world around them.

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Data quality has become an area of increasing concern in marketing research. Methods of collecting data, types of data analyzed, and data analytics techniques have changed substantially in recent years. It is important, therefore, to examine the current state of marketing research, and particularly self-administered questionnaires. This paper provides researchers important advice and rules of thumb for crafting high quality research in light of the contemporary changes occuring in modern marketing data collection practices. This is accomplished by a proposed six-step research design process that ensures data quality, and ultimately research integrity, are established and maintained throughout the research process—from the earliest conceptualization and design phases, through data collection, and ultimately the reporting of results. This paper provides a framework, which if followed, will result in reduced headaches for researchers and more robust results for decision makers.

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As in many European countries, the Public Health Service (PHS) in Germany has had considerable difficulties in attracting well-qualified personnel for decades. Despite ongoing political and societal debate, limited empirical research on possible causes and explanations is available. To identify areas of action, we explored reasons for the (lack of) interest in working in the PHS by conducting two cross-sectional surveys among 3019 medical students (MS), public health students, and students from other PHS-relevant fields (PH&ONM) in Germany right before (wave 1, 2019/2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (wave 2, 2021). While interest in working in the PHS among MS was low, it was considerably higher among PH&ONM. The prevalent underestimation of the importance of public health and low levels of knowledge about the PHS were identified as potential barriers. Although core activities of the PHS were often considered attractive, they were repeatedly not attributed to the PHS. A negative perception of the PHS (e.g., it being too bureaucratic) was prevalent among students with and without PHS interest, indicating that both a negative image and potentially structural deficits need to be overcome to increase attractiveness. Based on the findings, we propose approaches on how to sustainably attract and retain qualified personnel.

The Public Health Service (PHS) in Germany has had difficulties in recruiting enough qualified staff for years, but there is limited research on what factors drive decisions to (not) join the PHS workforce. We explored reasons for this perceived (lack of) attractiveness. We conducted two cross-sectional surveys among medical students (MS), public health students and students from other PHS-relevant fields (PH&ONM) in Germany before (2019/2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2021). Both waves surveyed self-reported reasons for why students did (not) consider working in the PHS as attractive and how this could be improved, using open-question items. Qual- itative and quantitative content analyses were conducted according to Mayring. In total, 948 MS and 445 PH&ONM provided valid written responses. Reasons for considering the PHS as attractive were, among others, the perception of a good work-life balance, high impact, population health focus, and generally interesting occupations. Suggestions to increase attractiveness included reducing bureaucracy, modernization/digitalization, and more acknowledgement of non-medical profession- als. Among MS, reasons against were too little clinical/patient-related activities, low salary, and occupations regarded as boring. Our findings indicate areas for improvement for image, working conditions in, and institutional structures of the PHS in Germany to increase its attractiveness as an employer among young professionals.