Copyright by Tatiana Borisovna Segura 2008 - The University of ...
Copyright by Tatiana Borisovna Segura 2008 - The University of ...
Copyright by Tatiana Borisovna Segura 2008 - The University of ...
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RESEARCH AUDIENCE<br />
<strong>The</strong> primary audience <strong>of</strong> this study is directors and administrators <strong>of</strong> study abroad<br />
programs interested in improving their programs’ pre-departure preparation techniques<br />
<strong>by</strong> providing their study abroad participants with more detailed information on<br />
acculturation, gender, and ethnicity in a study abroad setting. This study will also be a<br />
valuable source <strong>of</strong> information for other researchers working on issues <strong>of</strong> acculturation,<br />
gender and ethnicity in educational settings abroad. Governmental agencies interested in<br />
promoting and facilitating cross-cultural communication between the United States and<br />
Russia will benefit from the study as well. Finally, it is hoped that this study will help<br />
many American college students who are planning to undertake study abroad in Russia to<br />
achieve better understanding <strong>of</strong> the sociocultural aspects <strong>of</strong> Russian culture and get more<br />
out <strong>of</strong> their limited time in country.<br />
DEFINING KEY TERMINOLOGY<br />
were used:<br />
For the purposes <strong>of</strong> this study, the following definitions <strong>of</strong> the key terminology<br />
A short-term study abroad program is a study abroad program with a duration <strong>of</strong><br />
three to eight weeks.<br />
Identity is “how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how<br />
that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands<br />
possibilities for the future” (Norton 5).<br />
Inequality is the unequal allocation <strong>of</strong> benefits (Cohn 3).<br />
Discrimination is the provision <strong>of</strong> unequal benefits to people <strong>of</strong> different<br />
ascriptive statuses despite identical qualifications and merits (Cohn 3).<br />
Prejudice is an attitude <strong>of</strong> hostility held <strong>by</strong> members <strong>of</strong> one ascriptive group<br />
towards members <strong>of</strong> another (Cohn 3).<br />
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