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An Interdisciplinary Approach to Cyberculture Research in Hong Kong
Co-investigator: Professor Chan Sin-wai
As Heidegger pointed out, physics is indeed poeisis in the highest sense. Cultural theorization on modern technology (including of course information technology and the Internet), therefore, should be taken seriously, especially when Hong Kong is now aspiring to become a ìknowledge societyî in the near future. It should be readily recognized, that any attempt at catching-on whith digital technology, be it commercially driven or educationally oriented, should root itself firmly within the arena of its cultural imaginary and creative potentiality.
This research project responds rigorously to the obvious lack of attention given to the cultural part of the emergence of cyberontology, and proposes to face it head-on through an interdisciplinary approach to a study of cyberculture in Hong Kong. It is a pioneer effort to systematically collect relevant data, to render translated texts for school students, to linguistically analyze cyberdiscourse, to collate an English-Chinese Dictionary of cyber-related hybrid words, and to critically research on how best cyberculture as a whole can be introduced and promoted in primary and secondary schools as well as in universities through a careful design of curricula. Finally, it is suggested that an international conference be organized to consolidate and further develop the findings from the various projects proposed herein.
This project is being supported by the RGC Earmarked Grant for a fund of HK$1,045,000 in 2001-2003.
A Curricular Investigation of Specialized Translation Courses in Hong Kong Tertiary Institutions
Principal Investigator: Professr Li Defeng
Technical and business translation accounts for by far the biggerst proportion of translation work in the world today. In sheer volume and financial worth, technical and business translation far exceeds the translation of literary texts. In Hong Kong, specialized translation (ST) courses, such as commercial translation, governement document translation, science and technology, are core courses in all the six translation departments/programmes in Hong Kong tertiary institutions. However, despite their recognized importance among universities, staff and students and the efforts made on the part of the universities to put out sound courses, students have generally felt under-prepared upon graduation regarding translation in general and specialized translation in particular. An investigation of the possible reasons is in order. It is therefore the intent of this study to make a critical examination of the curriculum design and teaching methodology of ST courses. Through an exploration of the essential 'what' and 'how' of ST courses, suggestions will be made on how to improve the course content and teaching methodologies in line with educational curricular theories and thoughts on translation teaching.
The primary modes of data collection include (1) questionaire surveys of instructors of ST courses, professional translators who are recent graduates of local translation programmes, employers of translation graduates and users of translation services; (2) follow-up interviews with a selection of them; (3) and on-site classroom observation.
This reserach project is being supported by the RGC Earmarked Research Grant for a fund of HK$501,000 in 2001-2003. |