TERREMOTOS- LÍNEAS DE TRANSMISIÓN, CAÍDA DE

It has been posited that if translation is used within qualitative research, the researcher should carefully consider its process, as it raises some important questions on which to reflect. This emanates from the belief that the translator has the potential to influence the research significantly via their attempt to transfer meaning from a language and culture that might be unknown to the reader, especially when the researcher holds dual roles of translating and researching. As such, decisions about translation have an impact on the credibility of the research (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000). The translator infers and assumes meaning through the text, and this transforms the translator into an analyst and cultural agent as well his or her main role (Temple and Young, 2004).

In this study, I alone translated the parts of the interviews necessary for use in the thesis, after they had been transcribed verbatim in Greek. Occupying a dual role as a researcher-translator gave me the opportunity to examine the meanings of the phenomena which had created the main discussions in my project and therefore aided my analysis (Xian, 2008). By being a native speaker, I was able to use my experience to make sense, as translation is a sense-making activity for which my knowledge, social background and experience came into play (Xian, 2008). As a social constructionist I acknowledge the power of language as providing the channel to comprehend culturally fixed concepts such as career perceptions, career needs and slang. Furthermore, I argue that there is no single correct translation, and so my location, knowledge, experience and perceptions can affect my translation. I also understand that my translation is

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interwoven with the Greek language and that this carries cultural meanings tied to the described reality (Burr, 2003).

Researchers who see the social world in these terms do not advocate the view that there is only one correct way in which to describe the social world, as both the researcher and the participant are both producers of interpretations and their social location in the world influences how they come to experience and describe it. As a translator coming from a social constructionist epistemology I acknowledge that my location within the social world influences the way in which I see myself; consequently, as a translator, I am part of the process of forming knowledge. People have specific histories and inhabit social positions, which means that they do not see the world from another’s standpoint, although they may understand each other through dialogue (Temple, 1997).

However, there are challenges for me as a researcher and translator found in the language and cultural differences between Greek and English, and any failure to address these might result in flaws in the study (Larkin et al., 2007). From a social constructionist point of view the translator- researcher constructs social and cultural meanings (Xian, 2008). Initially, since from my role as a translator I transfer meanings from one language to another, and since a surfeit of words cannot be fully understood without reference to the historical and cultural context in which they have emerged, I must discover a way to minimise the gap between these two different cultures and languages; hence, I construct meaning from the transcripts.

One issue faced in the translation was the linguistic difference between the languages, as some words or expressions did not have an equivalent in English. This can create research anomalies, as the translation of research into written English may mean that the ties between language and culture are lost through the problematic nature of meaning (Temple and Young, 2004; Xian, 2008). I therefore chose to base my analysis on the Greek data, in order to prevent any loss of cultural and linguistic ties, which is often the case when data are translated into another language (Temple and Young, 2004), i.e. the obvious and implicit meanings of speech may be lost when translated. This was deemed necessary because the Greek language is a very rich and expressive language replete with many metaphors which are hard to translate into English without losing the meaning. Furthermore, I was confronted with the usage of slang on the part of the participants. I interpreted this as them being comfortable with me as an interviewer and therefore felling they could speak freely and express themselves in any manner they desired. The usage of slang has certain issues, though; for instance, how does one translate it correctly? In several cases that was not an option,

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so I considered the meaning of the slang word and the context to which it was referring, in order to be able to translate it so that I could maintain cultural and linguistic ties with the original text. For example, Giannis mentioned the word “ακυρωνω” in Greek, which means “cancel” in English but in this context actually refers to “being put off something” when used as slang. Therefore, translation was aided by the fact that I am a native speaker and understand the culture and the connotation of the word. I understood that transferring all the knowledge coming out of these interactions to my readers was the first priority, so I decided to replace slang or idioms with similar expressions that function in a similar way but did not compromise on the essence of what was said, although I placed in brackets the Greek word/expression. The translation issue posed another question, though – should I send my translation quotes to the participants in order to receive their opinion and obtain verification? However, this would depend on the English proficiency of the participants (Marschan-Piekkarri and Reis, 2004). I did not proceed in this regards, as I did not believe that my participants would be confident in engaging with the English language. In addition, they had already checked the Greek version on which the analysis was based.

This discussion asks whether my life experiences affected the quality and implications of translation, as my life experiences and understanding can deepen my ability to reflect upon its content (Temple, 1997; Larkin et al., 2007). Being a former public sector employee, my own working experience within the context of the public sector and austerity aided my understanding, as sector-specific terms were used in the interviews by the participants, such as appraisal procedures, the names of different laws concerning careers in the public sector or working documents. This knowledge aided my analysis and translation, as some things did not need to be translated exactly, as their precise meaning would not affect the analysis. In addition, through the act of translating I am telling another person’s story in my words and in another language through an interpretative structure based upon my own experiences, assumptions and private knowledge of being a public sector employee in Greece. By encouraging and practicing reflexivity on general issues as well as translation, I aimed at enhancing trustworthiness (Xian, 2008).

Another challenge is the socio-cultural aspect associated with translating idioms, metaphors or proverbs originating from Greek mythology to social phenomena (Xian, 2008). For instance, in the interviews the participants referred to the unfair system of Hellenic society and used the slang words δοντι (tooth), Βησμα (socket), Μεσον (instrument), διαπλεκομενα (interests, interwinings) and ρουσφετι (bribery, special favour), all which refer to connections, intertwinings or clientelism. The meaning and understanding of δοντι (tooth), for instance, in Greek relates to the social

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phenomenon of clientelism, something common in the Hellenic discourse but very uncommon in the English version. Hence, I had to encourage my participants to explain the concept for me in their words, although I understood what they meant, from my experience, but I deemed it necessary so that my translation would be closer to their thoughts.

This move was driven by the fact that as a translator I did not simply translate but made sense of the data, before adapting it to another language (Xian, 2008). I grasp that my own experiences within Hellenic society aided my understanding and hence my translation, as our experiences influence our understanding when reading a text, since we refer to our own experiences in order to make sense of concepts (Temple and Young, 2004; Xian, 2008).

Furthermore, I was challenged by the methodological issue of whether my translated data could enhance a reader’s understanding of a different culture and mean the same as it would to a Greek reader. This was aided through discussion with three of my peers, two English-speaking and one Greek Cypriot, as their valuable comments ensured that the data were suitable for my target audience.

To conclude this chapter, I argue that through translation the researcher actively constructs “reality,” and so I adopted a reflexive approach – as suggested by scholars – which aided my understanding and interpretation of the data (Burr, 2003; Xian, 2008). By being reflexive, I acknowledge my assumptions, interpretations of and interactions with the data, thereby making me more aware of the way in which different linguistic or cultural elements are merged into the process of knowledge development, during which time data are interpreted translated and written in a different language (Xian, 2008).

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3.12. CONCLUSION

The aim of this chapter was to outline the methodology used in this study in order to fulfil the research objectives. The research questions emerged from my interest and previous work experience in the Hellenic public sector context as well as via my academic interest in careers, something which is acceptable within the constructivist paradigm (Remenyi et al., 1998). A literature review was carried out regarding the topic of careers, which informed the research objectives. These objectives sought to consider the relevance of the current framework, the KCM, and furthermore they sought to address gaps in the existing literature by emphasising the context of austerity. Moreover, the conceptual framework argued about particular career needs driving the career enactment of individuals, helping the researcher raise the question of the universality of those career needs, emphasising again the context of austerity.

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4. CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS

The interview results were analysed in terms of answering the following research questions. How are careers perceived in austerity by civil servants? What are their career needs? And how relevant is the KCM?

The purpose of the interviews was to investigate, in an exploratory manner, their understanding of the notion of career and how they perceived their own career. In addition, there was impetus to explore the relevancy of the KCM and the career needs of the participants. The method of analysis used was thematic analysis, which has been described as an inherent, coherent way of organising material into specific research questions (Braun and Clarke, 2006). When investigating the experiences of civil servants in Greece, 33 semi-structured interviews, lasting on average 35- 45 minutes, were conducted. The following main themes emerged from the analysis: job, safety, fairness, training, authenticity, balance and challenges. Some of the aforementioned themes have also been divided into various sub-themes. This is illustrated below (shown as theme, then sub- theme):

Figure 3: Themes and subthemes identified in this study

 Job o Plateau o Unfair o Frozen  Safety  Training  Fairness o Distributive o Procedural  Authenticity  Balance  Challenge

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4.1.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 1: TO UNDERSTAND HOW CAREERS ARE