The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the sojourn experiences of Asian international students enrolled in graduate programs at American universities. The six participants (3 women, 3 men) were Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese doctoral students at two universities in the Big Ten Conference. The research design was exploratory multiple-case study (R. K. Yin, 2003) informed by the concept of the Sojourner (P. C. P. Siu, 1952) in terms of assimilation, accommodation, and resistance. The primary data sources were a demographic survey (C. M. Golde & T. M. Dore, 2004) and focused interviews (R. K. Yin, 2003). The demographic data were analyzed descriptively. The interview data were analyzed with constant comparative method (S. B. Merriam, 1998). The major themes that emerged from the data were (a) language differences, (b) academic plight, (c) mixed relationships, and (d) emerging selfawareness. Implications and strategies to promote Asian international students' academic and social success in graduate programs are discussed.
Introduction Recently, researchers have explored the perspectives of those with disabilities to better understand their experiences in physical education. However, little has been done with focusing on those with visual impairments. Utilizing a qualitative interpretive phenomenological analysis framework, the purpose of this study was to examine the meaning that adults with visual impairments who attended residential schools for students who are blind ascribed to their physical education experiences. Methods A group of five adult males who attended physical education at residential schools in the United States were purposely selected for this study. Data were collected via semistructured telephone interviews and reflective interview notes. Data were analyzed using a five-step analytical process, and recurring themes were summarized and presented as results. Results and discussion Two broadly defined interrelated themes emerged from the participants’ narratives. One theme, “being the only blind guy, to being one of the crowd,” explained how differences in school settings contributed to the differences experienced by participants when attending residential and public or community schools. Cumulatively, participants described their residential school experiences as more inclusive and explained feelings of “being normal.” The second theme, “the bullies and the bullied,” explained the lived experiences of participants within the social dynamics of physical education environments and showed perceptions of those who were “able” and “less able.” Implications for practitioners Listening to the voices of individuals with disabilities can afford researchers and teachers with a better understanding of how they experience classes and help identify strategies to improve instruction. Two important implications for physical education teachers derived from this study were to ensure that adaptations are made to meet students’ needs, and that students are afforded choices within their physical education curriculum. Furthermore, in addition to experiences of bullying in inclusive settings, practitioners must be aware of these instances in residential schools as well.
It is difficult to identify whether quality requirements are defined adequately or not, but there are few methods to support this kind of requirements analysis. In this paper, we propose a method based on software quality spectrum, that shows a ratio of quality characteristics embedded in a software engineering artifact, such as a requirements specification, a manual and so on. We assume similar kinds of software systems have similar spectrum, thus we can identify the adequacy of quality requirements for a new system by using spectrum of already existing similar systems. We confirmed the assumption above by analyzing actual software systems, i.e., web browsers and drawing tools.
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